Sunday, November 22, 2009
Jerry lived next to us on Collingwood Drive. We moved in May 1990 and Jerry had been here for many years. We swapped vegatable gardening stories and she taught me things about growing 'greens' and sometimes the only time we conversed was when we were in our gardens. We checked up on her during the 1991 ice storm and she was a survivor like the rest of us. She had candles lit and had found ways to prepare food without power.
Jerry was sharp-we saw her a few years ago when Jerome drove her to the old neighborhood and she knew us well. She had some great hats that she wore on Sundays! Jerry ALWAYS gave and gave, and gave and didn't ask for much for herself. I'm talking about the many young (usually teens) folks that came to live next door with Jerry, usually troubled or disadvantaged teens of some kind. And she had MANY of them. It was almost always one at a time, but sometimes more because the house was big and she had room. We talked with those teens often and they were happy. We could tell that Jerry gave them a second chance and protected. I missed Jerry after she moved, but the house and yard was too much to maintain. Jerry was a very special person and her life had meaning for me and my husband and MANY others. I'm priviledged to have been her neighbor. Thank you Jerry for being here!
